Alexander Island

Alexander Island or Alexander I Island or Alexander I Land or Alexander Land or Alexander The First Island or Isla Alejandro I is the largest island of Antarctica, with an area of 18,946 mi² (49,070 km²) lying in the Bellingshausen Sea west of the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Marguerite Bay and George VI Sound. Alexander Island lies off the coast of Antarctica and is linked to it by an ice shelf. Alexander Island is about 240 miles long in a north-south direction, 50 miles wide in the north, and 150 miles wide in the south. Features of the island include the Sofia University Mountains.

Alexander Island was discovered on January 28, 1821 by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who named it Alexander I Land for the reigning Tsar Alexander I of Russia, but it was believed to be part of the Antarctic mainland until 1940. Its insular nature was proven in December 1940, by a sledge party under Finn Ronne of the United States Antarctic Service (USAS). In the 1950s, a British base administered as part of the British Antarctic Territory was constructed as Fossil Bluff.

The island is now used as a meteorological centre and refuelling base. It is claimed by the United Kingdom, for which it represents their largest remaining overseas island, part of the British Antarctic Territory, while for Chile and Argentina it is part of the Artártica Chilena Province and Tierra del Fuego Province respectibly.

The final mission of the video game Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode takes place on Alexander Island.

See also